The present invention relates to a wheeled vehicle which may be readily transported to a desired snow removal site and operatively associated with a storm drain as well as a supply of water such as a street hydrant. The wheeled vehicle may be self-propelled, but is preferably constructed in the form of a trailer to be towed behind a prime mover. In any event, the vehicle includes an engine mounted thereon for powering rotary snow break-up agitator structure which functions not only to break-up clumps of snow dumped into the tank but also to agitate and cause turbulence in the water within the tank into which the bulk snow to be melted is dumped.
Snow which is removed by various types of equipment may be transported to the vehicle and dumped into the upwardly opening tank and the water supplied to the tank from the hydrant is discharged into the tank through upper peripheral water outlet manifolds extending about major upper marginal portions of the tank. The water outlet manifolds are constructed to include water jet outlet structure and the jets of water to be discharged from the water outlet manifolds are inwardly and downwardly directed along the upper wall portions on the tank. The water jets serve to prevent snow from clinging to the sides of the tank and to wet the snow before it falls downwardly into the water supplied to the tank. The water within the tank is mechanically agitated in order to more quickly melt the bulk snow dumped therein and the means by which the water is mechanically agitated is driven by a combustion engine including an exhaust gas system incorporating a heat enchanger whereby a considerable portion of the heat of the exhaust gases from the combustion engine may be transfered by the water within the tank. Water is discharged from the tank through the utilization of a weir-type outlet and therefore at a rate which is substantially equal to the rate of input of water to the tank from an underground source, plus the quantity of water represented by the bulk snow melted in the tank. Therefore, the snow melting process is a continuous operation and although the bulk snow to be melted is intermittently dumped into the tank, a large snow melting operation could utilize a snow feeding system for the tank which is operable to supply bulk snow to the tank at a substantially constant rate.
By utilizing the heat of relatively inexpensive water supplied to the tank through a domestic underground water system considerable quantities of snow may be removed by conventional snow removal equipment and disposed of (melted) without trucking or otherwise transporting the the removed snow over great distances.
Various forms of snow removal and disposal structure including some of the general structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,991,784, 3,171,405, 3,277,885, 3,803,732, 3,886,340 and 4,288,931.
However, these previously known devices have not been specifically designed to provide a relatively inexpensive snow disposal apparatus which may be readily transported to a snow removal site and used to dispose of considerable quantities of snow at a relatively low cost. Further, although U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,866,340, 3,803,732, 3,277,885 and 3,171,405 disclose tanks into which bulk snow may be received and which contains a slurry of water and snow to which heat energy is supplied for melting additional snow added to the slurry, these prior patented devices all utilize some form of fuel for inputting substantially all of the heat energy to the slurry which is necessary to melt the bulk snow to be added to the slurry, and it has been found that water from an underground domestic water supply is maintained at approximately 52.degree.-55.degree. by the temperature of the ground below frost level and that the heat content of the water represented by the heat value thereof above zero.degree. C. constitutes a considerable amount of heat available for melting the bulk snow intermittently dumped into the tank.